The next time I get tired and want to slow down…

My mom showed me this picture yesterday and it made me so happy. This is my grandpa when he was 17 years old running at a track meet. He was extremely fast and set state records back in his day. Running was a huge part of his life and he also coached for many years.

I know that when I am racing he must be cheering me on the entire way:)

This picture of him giving his all is what I will be thinking about in Boston when I get tired and need some strength. Sure miss him!

This is Brooke’s latest fun new trick. What you don’t see are the puddles of water all over the apartment after learning this new trick.

The family from Arizona all came over for a taco bar at our house.

Of course I turned mine into a 4 lb salad.

2 things about this salad:

1. How do most people cut their avocado? I always peel mine first and then cut it right off of the seed. It always works out real well for me.

2. This corn salsa from Trader Joe’s is an excellent topper.

For dessert we had something that would make both kids and adults happy. I work hard at keeping my title of the favorite aunt.

Dirt cups with chocolate pudding, crushed up oreos and gummy warms.

We then went over to Megan’s house to get some work done and Brooke made sure to bring her laptop too.

Fact—> Marathon training makes you very hungry all of the time.

Avocado shredded chicken bite sandwiches are a great way to help with your hunger at 11 p.m.

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What was the last dessert that you had?

Any runners in your family?!

Who ran cross-country in high school? Track? Anyone run just for fun during high school?

What an inspirational picture!! It’s so cool that you the picture and those genes!
I had a chocolate shake last night after dinner.
I’m the first runner in my family. I come from a long line of cheerleaders and football players.
High school: I cheered so running was our punishment. Now I love it!

That’s an incredible picture! My dad was a runner and always ran with us until he hurt his knee. He and my mom both came to every one of my (and my siblings) track and cross country meets. It was pretty great. I was actually the only girl on my high school cross country team for three years, the only year someone was on the team with me was when I was a freshman and my teammate was my older sister.

Last dessert I had was cream cheese pie on Super Bowl Sunday. It was awesome!

Angela

I’m surprised no one else has said it, but you look like your grandfather!!! What an inspirational picture! Definitely good running genes!
The last dessert I had is kinda…um…right now at 8:06 in the morning. I am having a mocha coffee with whipped cream. yummo!
My husband is a runner and he is super fast! He is training for the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach.
I have taken a hiatus from running, but hope to pick back up soon and contact Coach Dave again =)

What an awesome pic of your grandfather! I wish I had family members who run, but unfortunately NONE of mine do.

The only running I did in high school was when I was forced to do the 1-miler every week. It was a really unpleasant experience. My PE class was in the afternoon and here in Florida the afternoons are usually super sunny and in the 80s or 90s… and our whole class had one water fountain to share. I despised running that mile, but I love running now. I feel like if the conditions had been different in high school I might have started my love for running earlier!

What an inspirational photo of your grandpa!
No runners that I know of in my family. My mom swam a lot when she was younger, my sister horseback rides, and my grandpa also was an avid swimmer.
Last dessert I had was homemade chocolate chip cookie cake over the weekend!

lisa

I LOVE that photo- what a gift!
I ran Cross Country and track all four years in HS, and initially, I hated running! ;0 The only reason I got roped into CC was because the coach caught me in the hall with a drink (ooh!) which we weren’t supposed to do, and told me if I came to the CC meeting that afternoon I wouldn’t get into trouble, haha. I went and was completely intimidated and did NOT want to join, but he pushed me, I liked him, and needless to say, liked CC WAY more than track. Track meet stressed.me.out. I used to cry before every race because I was so nervous.;/ I am very thankful for CC and the coaches, as they are the ones who introduced me to trail running, and the peace that comes with running on the mountains, close to streams, etc. They always loaded us up in the van to go on “destination” runs. I felt so sorry for other schools when I found out their practice runs occured on the track or just around the school area..ick!

I am a complete outlier. There are no runners in the history of my family. Switched at birth…

The last dessert I had was this past weekend for my sister’s birthday. It was called “birthday cake” and was vanilla cake with layers of chocolate frosting inside wrapped in vanilla icing and topped with raspberries. .. holy yum.

That is an amazing picture! There really weren’t any other runners in my family…I ran on the track team in high school but it was only because I needed to stay in shape for field hockey season. I actually hated running until I got to college!

I ran cross country in high school and loved it. I wish I could get back the speed I had then… My dad is the one who introduced me to running around age 10 or so. He’s super fast though and I unfortunately did not inherit that!

My dad was a runner. He ran all the local races and the NYC marathon three times. I never understood all his runner talk until I became one myself. He was not a fast runner but the fact that he ran that marathon three times is now fascinating to me since it’s not something I have done! Last dessert I had was a carvel soft serve sundae at the Islanders game last night!

Laura

I went to Sweet Ali’s and got a gluten free cupcake. And a gluten free brownie. And a gluten free cookie. And a gluten free cinnamon bun. I have been having withdrawal since I have had to go gluten free…. everything was amazing.

My last dessert: cupcakes
I ran cross country and track in high school and loved it! Running has always been something I loved but for some reason I stopped doing it for many many years. I started back up a few years ago and love it once again-it’s my sanity.

Whenever my little munchkins try to learn a “new trick”, we have a little tutorial on how to do it properly. That’s how they learned to drink from regular cups, pour their own drinks, cut up veggies, and get water from the fridge. They also have their own Ikea steps to help them get up to the appropriate height for whatever shenanigans they are getting into. So maybe don’t try to fight the water battle, but teach her to clean up spills and how to use a step to do it properly. I know you didn’t ask for advice, but a friend told me the same thing when I was forever slipping in water! :)

Kendra

I always cut the avocado in half & cut slices within each avocado half… if that makes sense. Then I just scoop them out. I whack the knife into half with the pit to pull it out. Potential to be dangerous, but that’s how we did it at Chipotle when I used to work there.

Last night I had an almond meal coconut chocolate chip cookie. Without fail I always end with a sweet treat.

Annie R

The last dessert I had was a handful of double stuffed Oreos on Monday night (and all day). My absolute fav.

No runners in my fam! I think my uncle used to run and then his knees eventually gave out (I refuse to believe that will ever happen to me!) No one in my fam has ever done a marathon though, my mom always says she has no idea where I get it from.

I desperately wish I had picked up competitive running in high school. I actually got into it as a way of staying in shape for soccer. I never had the guts to try out for cross country, but I wish I had! I wonder how it would’ve changed me as a runner now!

Lindsay

You look so much like your grandpa! It’s funny because I always think about my grandpas cheering me on too. Neither one was a runner, but they both would be very excited about my running.
Last dessert was lime sherbert (my fav!)
I’m pretty much the only runner in my family. I live in a volleyball family, so they do run occasionally :)
I ran one year of cross-country and my biggest accomplishment was never coming in last!

My mom used to run like 2 miles a day in the mornings…now she just walks because her knees are bad. i’m the first one in my family to be really athletic! Nobody else did sports in high school or anything either! My dad’s motto is “you only run if you’re being chased.” LOL!

That corn and chile salsa is my favorite!!!!
My grandpa was a gymnast. Very athletic.

I was on high school track for one semester but was not so good. They would put me in relay races so there were faster runners to make up the difference. I guess slow and long distances are my thing. :)

Denise

My last dessert was a piece of See’s Candies Scotchmallow (my favorite)!
I ran cross-country and track in high school. I started running a little in 8th grade and loved it, so I signed up to start training with the high schoolers the summer before. I wasn’t very fast my freshman year, but I won some races and set some records during my sophmore and junior years. My dad was an unofficial coach (they even gave him a team hat and jacket) and he’d stand at the final turn of the track with his stopwatch and yell our splits at us. I loved it so much! He ran a bit in high school, but never on any teams, and he used to love teasing me that he could beat my mile PR (5:35) when he was in the Army in full gear ;-) So I know he was fast!

What a great photo, and we have that in common. My grandpa ran track and cross-country in high school and college and also set many records back in the day (New York state mile champ!). Unfortunately he passed away prior to my first high school XC meet but ever since then, I’ve run with him in the back of my mind. It’s seriously positive motivation.

That is an awesome picture!! You can just see the power and his state of mind at that moment. So cool!
No one in my family are runners. My parents to like to walk together a lot though, but my Dad swears the running will ruin my knees :(

Tonya

I had tiramisu Monday night. I was getting kind of full (Margherita Pizza, salad, and Calamari) and didn’t know if I could handle it. But when my husband suggested he had been thinking about it too, I dropped a half eaten piece of calamari back on the plate, and had the last slice of pizza and rest of the calamari boxed up. When the tiramisu arrived my husband mentioned how we might have to have part of it boxed too. “Don’t you worry about that,” I replied. “I’ve got it covered.”

My nephew Isaac runs cross country. I paced him in his first 5K. He flies by me in every one since!

I ran track, the 110 hurdles, the 330 hurdles, and the mile relay. A half mile total! I feared cross country because of the distance, but had I tried it I think I would have loved it (my favorite race of all time is the Big South Fork 17.5 mile trail run).

whitney

I got a bunch of Ghirardelli squares when I did the Birmingham Chocolate 5k and have been slowly eating my way through them. I allow myself to have one delicious square for dessert. I also love to eat bananas with almond butter for dessert! Healthy-ish and delicious!

I am the only “runner” in my family (besides my aunt), but I’m trying to convince my mom to do a race with me… Maybe sometime this year she will say yes!

I’m a photographer, and I just did a food shoot yesterday with these amazing brown sugar oat bars, so I had one for dessert. :)
I didn’t run in high school because I was much heavier, I didn’t start running until after I’d lost almost 100 pounds. I wish I’d discovered back then how much I love running! :) I’ve never experienced running in a team setting, but I bet it’s awesome!

Chocolate peanut butter balls! Yes, my dad ran cross country in high school. But not me! I played soccer up until my fourth year of varsity and then one day I just switched over to marathoning. I ran my first marathon when I was 20! (in 1998).

Of course running is in your genetics! Your grandpa looks like a beast!!! I love old family pictures that remind us of where we came from.

My dad was all around athletic and was a smokejumper for a number of years. He was in charge of training the hotshot crews, which requires a lot of physical testing and endurance. My mom was a cyclists, do I guess I have a mixture of both in my blood.

Monika

First of all, that picture is AMAZING! You HAVE to get it framed and hang it in your apartment or something. Seriously. So inspiring. And now we know where you get your amazing running abilities from ;)

That taco salad looks AMAZING, and I 100% agree – training makes me hungry all the time! And I’m only training for a half, I can’t imagine how much food I will consume if I ever train for a full.

I did track in middle school and high school and loved it! But I was a short distance runner so I did the 100m 200m and those respective relays. My dad also told me he was a track star and could have gone pro ;) I didn’t fall in love with long distance running until college and that love grew more recently this past year.

Last dessert I had: Tapioca pudding from Whole Foods. So so so good. And also these sunflower seed cookies that sound super weird but are delicious.

Aww, how cool about your Grandpa!! I am the ONLY runner in my family. Although I do get my basketball genes from my grandpa (he’s 6’6″!) As for avocados.. I cut in half, then cut a sliver out depending on how much I need.

Molly

I’m doing a Clean Eating Challenge right now, so my last dessert was a brownie on Saturday night, the night before the challenge began. I’m really cranky right now, but I’ve already lost three pounds, so I guess I can’t complain?

Taco Bar is my favorite thing EVER. Not a week ago I was on Facebook all excited because I showed up to a lunch meeting and they had a taco bar set up.

I usually just peel the part of the avocado I’m planning to eat right then and cut that much.

Yes, I ran cross country and track in high school. I got patellar tendinitis my senior year and didn’t run regularly again for YEARS, but I’ve been back at it for almost four years now and so far, so good!

Last night for dessert I had frozen chocolate covered strawberries- yum!
I never participated in team sports growing up. It just wasn’t something my parents ever signed me up for when I was little. I did run for exercise in high school. I even ran one of the routes that the track team did- I just never went out for the team or anything.

Okay, now I am seriously craving dirt cups! I think it’s been 10 years since I last had one.

I ran 800m in high school…don’t even ask me why. There is not a more painful event in existence (but I have never ran a marathon SO…hahaha). I didn’t have enough speed for it though, which is why I switched to distance running!

I had some 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies and some dark chocolate last night. So good.

I actually hated running in high school. It was the one sport that I wasn’t particularly good at, so when I got older I started to make myself run so that I could improve and several years later I am still loving it!

Annie B

I have a similar picture I keep for running motivation! A photo of my dad was (randomly) featured on the cover of the LA Times in the early 90s, and I keep a copy of the clipping in my apartment. It shows my dad running the track at work on his lunch break- looking super intense! I definitely know where I got my love of running from!

I’m looking forward to finding out what you and Megan are doing together. Her Instagram always gives me the best workouts to do.

Also, I love dirt cups, I had forgotten all about the. I need a reason to make them, haha. At this point though, any desert sounds good to me. I’m doing Whole30 right now and I’m on day 20 without treats. The sweetest thing I eat is a sweet potato, well..and fruit. I haven’t decided what treat I will have when I am done with this program, but I’m thinking a DQ Blizzard. I love those things.

That photo of your grandpa is awesome! Both my parents are runners. They actually met at a running clinic my dad was putting on. He was an elite master’s runner and founded the largest running club in Sacramento.

In high school I was on swim team and swore I would never turn into a runner like my parents. But, now I’m a runner and so is my husband. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree :) Have a great rest of your week!

jade

An amazing pic of your grandfather! He has incredible abs, and I think you look like him too! My dad was a runner and I vividly remember going to a track with him and watching him run as I rode my bike around it, complete with training wheels, (I was 2 and 3 years old).

In high school I ran track, cross-country, did high jump and also ran some 10 K races.

That is such a great photo of your grandpa!! I love his facials!! Very inspiring :) my dad used to run and do soccer but aside from that I’m the only one who runs in the fam! The last dessert I had was a blizzard and it was amazing :) that dirt cup looks delicious too!

Abbey

My whole family runs. My parents started training for marathons when I started high school. They both still run marathons now. My siblings ran cross country and track in high school and college. My sister and I both married guys that ran in high school and college. In the course of the last year 5 of us ran a marathon. Also, my parents coach college cross country and track, I coach high school, my husband coaches high school and my brother in law coaches high school.

I ran cross country and track in high school and college and can honestly say it was the best decision. I made many lifelong friends and learned so much about the sport and myself running competitively for so long.

I had an ice cream on Saturday night, which I think was my last dessert.

I did a little running at high school, I was in some relay teams, but mostly I ran for my tennis. But only because I had to for my fitness – I didn’t enjoy running then. I avoided it when I could weasle out of it!

Ariel

I am a junior in high school and run both xc and track! Right now I’m doing winter track and it’s definitely my favorite season… minus all of the snow on the roads :) My family is full of runners, too; my sister and I are known as “the runners” haha

Randi

I ran cross country and track and did girls’ weightlifting in high school. Every year btwn XC and track I also trained and ran the Walt Disney Half Marathins….great times and fond memories of growing up!

GREAT photo! My dad ran in high school and college (as did I). While my whole family has always been supportive of my running endeavors, it helps to have someone who really gets it. Thanks for sharing.

That is such a great picture! I ran both Cross Country and track. I didn’t think I was fast enough but now that I look back I was better than average. I had about a 6:30 pace for a 5k. I wish I could’ve stuck with it back then. I am two minutes slower now and I’ve worked hard to get to that pace. Age sure took a toll on my body! lol

I ran track & cross-country in High School. I was TERRIBLE. Like, actually terrible. I came in dead last in every single race, except the 800 at CCS–where I came in second-to-last! Woo! not really sure how that happened! And I tripped myself wearing spikes like 5 or 6 times, and finally had to give up and wear just regular shoes for track races so I wouldn’t maim myself and bleed all over the other competitors. And I got super lost at multiple cross country courses and was disqualified. Thankfully I’m the least competitive person ever, so I wasn’t permanently traumatized.

Kathryn

Your avocado technique is perfect! Apparently, (I read an article on this) the avocado holds an abundance of vitamins; however, most of the vitamins are on the very outside of the avocado under the skin. So, the pros suggest peeling the avocado because it leaves the majority of the vitamins intact. Just some food for thought ;)

No one in my family really ran cross-country. My sister did briefly in high school, but only to prepare for soccer season. As for me, I started in law school and realized what I had been missing my whole life!

I had chunks of Max Brenner chocolate with pretzels last night!! Yum. Although, I am thinking dirt pudding is in my future now…